“Thank you for your recent letter of August 2011 highlighting my recent decision to strengthen the democratic system of the Tibetan community by transferring power to a democratically elected leader,” Dalai Lama wrote in a letter to Tsai.

The Tibetan leader offered his best wishes to Tsai for “continued success” in her work for the Taiwanese.

The Dalai Lama said he “voluntarily, proudly and happily took the decision of ending the 369-year-old tradition of the Dalai Lamas holding the dual responsibility of temporal and spiritual affairs.”

The DPP also took the opportunity to again call for China to respect human rights and freedom of speech and religion, saying that its hard-line position toward the incarnation of the Dalai Lama and its continued suppression of the Tibetans undermines the international image China has been trying to build.

The party expressed its disappointment over South Africa’s failure to grant the Dalai Lama a visa, which forced the cancelation of his meeting with fellow Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, under Chinese pressure.

China’s interference is a violation of human rights, the DPP said, and the civil rights and democratic development of every country should be protected by the international community.